Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a multifactorial chronic systemic autoimmune disease. It is characterized by a lack of immune tolerance to autoantigens such as nuclear antigens. The aim of the study is to assess the interferon-alpha (IFN-α) serum level in Iraqi patients with SLE and determine its potential relation to different clinical and laboratory parameters and disease activity. 100 SLE patients were all females and with a mean of age 31.3 ± 10 years (16-63years) and disease duration of 5.8 ± 3.7years (1 month to 15 years). The average of SLEDAI score ranged from 2 to 22 with a mean of (8.53 ±3.42). Proteinuria, ESR, creatinine and AST were significantly higher (65% vs. 10% and 0.62±0.11 vs. 0.70±0.14 mg/dl resp

For more than a decade, externally bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites successfully utilized in retrofitting reinforced concrete structural elements. The function of CFRP reinforcement in increasing the ductility of reinforced concrete (RC) beam is essential in such members. Flexural and shear behaviors, ductility, and confinement were the main studied properties that used the CFRP as a strengthening material. However, limited attention has been paid to investigate the energy absorption of torsion strengthening of concrete members, especially two-span concrete beams. Hence, the target of this work is to investigate the effectiveness of CFRP-strengthening technique with regard to energy absorption of two-span RC

     Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the most common human pathogens in the world. Several studies that have investigated the correlation between H. pylori infection and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) found that H. pylori infection is more frequent in the patients, while the results of other studies were unclear. This paper aims to investigate the interrelation between the infection with H. pylori and type 2 DM in Dohuk governorate, Iraq. Eighty four diabetes patients (41 males, 43 females) and 92 healthy controls were involved in this study. H. pylori status was assessed in serum samples by using ELISA test.  Out of the 84 patients,

This paper is focused on orthogonal function approximation technique FAT-based adaptive backstepping control of a geared DC motor coupled with a rotational mechanical component. It is assumed that all parameters of the actuator are unknown including the torque-current constant (i.e., unknown input coefficient) and hence a control system with three motor control modes is proposed: 1) motor torque control mode, 2) motor current control mode, and 3) motor voltage control mode. The proposed control algorithm is a powerful tool to control a dynamic system with an unknown input coefficient. Each uncertain parameter/term is represented by a linear combination of weighting and orthogonal basis function vectors. Chebyshev polynomial is used

This study aims to evaluate the adsorption isotherm of carbon microparticles prepared from pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) seeds for adsorbing curcumin (as a model of dye). The results were derived and compared using the kinetics approach based on several standard adsorption isotherm models, namely the Langmuir, Temkin, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radushkevich models. The second aim is to evaluate the effects of carbon particle size (from 100 to 1000 mm) on the adsorption characteristics. The experimental results showed that the adsorption on the surface of carbon microparticles occurred in monolayer with a physical phenomenon. This is because the active areas are located only on the outer surface of carbon and no surface structure in th

     Dental amalgam is a mixture of approximately 50% mercury and varying ratios of silver, tin, zinc, and copper. Dental amalgam is a major source of mercury pollution because it is readily absorbed through 90-100% vapour and the oral mucosa. In addition, in certain situations with the oral environment, various types of metallic orthodontic brackets are highly aggressive and can lead to corrosion. However, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) material has no cytogenetic effects on human health or the environment and is therefore applied in the manufacturing of the new composite material. Different additives from the bonding agent (PVA; 2.4, 4.8, and 7.2 g)  dissolved in about 10 ml of water, heated on a hot plate under a hig

In this research, salbutamol sulphate (SAS) has been determined by a simple, rapid and sensitive spectrophotometric method. Salbutamol sulphate in this method is based on the coupling of SAS with diazotized ρ- bromoaniline reagent in alkaline medium of Triton X-100 (Tx) to form an orange azo dye which is stable and water-soluble. The azo dye is exhibiting maximum absorption at 441 nm. A 10 - 800 µg of SAS is obeyed of Beer^'s law in a final volume of 20 ml, i.e., 0.5- 40 ppm with ε, the molar absorptivity of 48558 L.mol^-1.cm^-1 and Sandell's sensitivity index of 0.01188 µg.cm^-2. This new method does not need solvent extraction or temperature control which is well applied to determine SAS in d